Terrorism returns to Moscow. What does the attack on Crocus City Hall tell us and why is Putin blaming Ukraine?
On the evening of March 22, four men broke into one of the largest entertainment centers in the Moscow region, Crocus City Hall, where a concert by the rock band Picnic was scheduled, and began shooting at people. Later, there was a fire in the premises, and the roof collapsed. As a result of the terrorist attack, 139 people were killed, and at least 182 were injured, according to the latest information. The organization "Islamic State - Khorasan Province," an ISIS-affiliated organization, claimed responsibility for the attack. Shortly after the incident, Russian security services detained Tajik citizens allegedly involved in the crime.
The last time terrorist attacks of this scale occurred in Russia was in the early 2000s when the hot phase of the Second Chechen War was underway under the leadership of the newly elected president and former FSB chief Vladimir Putin. And this time, the terrorist attack took place right after the elections, during which Putin became president, bypassing the constitution for the fifth time.
Interestingly, a few hours before the attack, an extraordinary political event took place: one of Vladimir Putin's closest associates, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov, called Russia's invasion of Ukraine a war. In Russia, the word "war" has been criminalized since the invasion began.
It is forbidden to use it, and dozens of Russians have already been jailed for public posts and articles with the word "war" in them. A criminal article introduced in 2022 prescribes up to 15 years in prison for "public dissemination of knowingly false information" about the actions of the army or officials. The war was considered "false information."
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